The TsunamiFox Full Opening Weekend Review!

[TsunamiFox]

Woot! Opening weekend is now complete! Despite the rain, this has been a great kick off to this year’s event. I have just returned from HHN 22, I have a beverage in hand, and a fading amount of energy. So, let’s get this over with. I apologize in advance for this review not being so coherent, as I said, I am very tired.

Houses:

*I am not giving any houses (blank out of blank stars) because I feel it’s too early in the event and that is just too specific for me right now.

*So these are my opinions on the house after two days of digesting them.

*Note: Every house has great scares, but you have a high chance of missing some due to bad luck.

Lets go in order shall we!

1.) Silent Hill:

Upon entering this house, there will be two things you will notice. One, the facade is beautifully eerie. Two, it smells like barbecue. Now, I am not a gamer, so I have never played any of the games, but I have seen the movie. From what I have seen and what I know, this house did a pretty great tribute to the series. The house was filled with atmosphere and nice scares. Two things that were strange though is that the one large group of nurses didn’t move and neither did the rabbit at the end. I’m not sure if that is how it is suppose to be, but I hope not. Other than that this has was fantastic. One of the most memorable moments is probably the room with all the merry-go-round equipment/horses (for me at least).

2.) Gothic:

Three words: Oh my God. This house was amazing in every way and every aspect! I can not get enough of this house. Going through this house is the equivalent of being on HHN Ecstasy. But, what makes this house so great? For starters, the facade is one of the best to date, it also is fairly chilly inside (which is nice after standing in the hot/humid Florida nights), the costumes are fantastic, amazing soundtrack/music as well as atmosphere, and some very neat scares. This house employs some of the coolest scares at this year’s event. We have the amazing mirror tricks, gargoyles on zip lines and stilts, great use of strobe lights and darkness, sound effects are right on track, and it even has a scene among the stars. Not only does Gothic have all that, it has some of the most effective use of boo-holes with strobe lights and noise I have ever seen. What more could you want out of an HHN house? I strongly believe this will go down as one of the best in HHN History.

3.) Dead End:

Creepy dilapidated house all the kids in the neighborhood whisper about, check. House filled with ghosts and goblins, check. Legendary Truth perfected, check. Damn, pretty good start. This house captures a great essence of Halloween. Walking inside, you feel like a kid again who has been dared to enter the creepy old house at the end of the street (on Halloween of course). One of my disclaimers before mentions that you may miss some scares going through the houses this year...after going through it twice, I saw some of the same scares and some I didn’t see return and then I saw some new ones. There is one really cool scare involving a spirit who keeps repeating her own hanging, complete with loads of bent neck. Very cool. There is also a spirit continuously scaling the staircase, which is very chilling to see. Like Gothic, this house uses classic HHN mirror gags and even has some new scares in it that are very interesting and absolutely, unexpectedly terrifying. Dead End is very fun and enjoyable and I love every bit of it. Oh yeah, it even has some pretty cool projections as well.

4.) The Walking Dead:

It seems every year has that “loud house.” Yes, this is a VERY LOUD house. It bothers some people, but I don’t mind. Some of the actors inside matched the loudness with aggressiveness, but some did not.

The beginning in the hospital was cool, but I really wish the zombie in the elevator would run at you during a strobe effect. I just feel like everything in the opening room was a distraction-scare, but nothing was distracting you from another approaching scare. Anyways, it still made for a good, and for the most part, fairly strong opening room for the house. The room was complete with hanging “live” wires and some electrical sound effects to match. Some wires even lit up (which really, really looked like sparks), at some point your instincts will kick in and tell you to refrain from the wires, but then you remember this is just a haunted house.

The very industrial-esq room was a highlight for me, that room had a very big scare in it. Two other highlights are: the winnebago with the shotgun and water spurts, and the horse-shit stenched barn. The barn is also a very scary part of the house. Also the house is not over when you think it is. Well done, but could fit some room for minor improvements.

5.) Penn & Teller New(KD) Las Vegas:

Ahh, this years humor house (but with a bit more scare). All around, this is a very enjoyable house. It had everything I wanted (expect the real Penn & Teller - I just missed them). There isn’t really too much that comes to mind about this house right now, but I assure you it is great. It may be something you have to see to believe. But, there were a few things that largely stand out to me. One, the light room is very disorienting and pretty damn scary the first time you walk through it. Two, all the interactive buttons are a major highlight. Great house, I highly recommend it, especially if you’re looking for something scary (but not too scary), and just a damn good time.

6.) Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare:

Alice Cooper was tied in the bottom with The Walking Dead, but in-fact, this house delivered very well! It starts off in a sponge-cell room (like what you would see in a mental hospital) and is complete with thin foam-mattresses that obstruct your vision. This room comes with a spastic guy in a straight-jacket (very effective with the strobes). Another really good scare in this house is the guy in the ceiling. Alice Cooper’s music fits the house nicely and I enjoyed it very much. Though, one gripe with this house, what the hell is that one lady dancing on the pole in the one room all about? Is it suppose to be a distraction-scare, because I have gone through this house three times and that room just seemed weird and pointless.

7.) House of Horrors:

I had high hopes for this one after hearing how scary Dead Exposure was. Unfortunately, it did not deliver on the same level as that house. The biggest issue, it is not dark enough. In the sprung tents, you can have complete and total darkness, which I was hoping the Parade Building could match, but I guess not. You can see almost everything coming. The only scares you will get are from the loud sound effects and the monsters hiding behind walls and corridors.

I really want to love this house, and I really like it, but it just isn’t there (yet). I hope there is a way they can make the PB darker, but I’m not going to count on it. It seems like every actor gave their all and I appreciate that. Also, the claustrophobic part is cool, but I just missed the scares both times going through it. The last room was very scary and disorienting the first time I went through it on Friday. But, Saturday (when I went through), the actors didn’t have as much energy and were not as in to it. Oh well. To me, this is the house that I am really excited to see its evolution over the course of the event.

A further note on houses: Honestly they are all tied and I want to love them all equally so much! But, if I HAD to choose, I would probably go with Gothic.

Street Experiences:

*Note it rained the first night (so for the most part, the hordes were not out on the streets) so most of these impressions are from Saturday night, which means I don’t feel as if I have a “full” feeling of the hordes yet.

1.) The Iniquitus:

They were more of a photo op horde, but when they were scary, they could be pretty scary.

2.) Vampires:

Nice use of make-up and masks. I have heard complaints about the masks and make-up being cheesy and bad this year, but I think they are fine and most every scare actor looks great (but, there are some exceptions). The vampires were cool and on Friday, their presence was felt the most. I really like the Nosferatu vampire.

3.) Beasts:

I only saw a few. They looked pretty cool, but I didn’t really see them enough to judge.

4.) Warriors:

They were pretty cool as well. They had some scariness about them, but I think this a horde that is going to take some breaking-in to.

5.) Prisoners:

All-female Chainsaw Drill Team...not bad, not bad. The female scare actors get pretty in to it (very in to it actually), and even thrown in some snarky comments along the way which can be pretty funny. One of them flashed my female friend a suggestive gesture with her tongue. *shivers* haha. Though, from what I saw around me, they weren’t very effective...I am not sure why...

6.) Traditionals:

These are FOR SURE my favorite horde. They are creepiest and the actors playing these characters get the most into it. I also felt their presence the strongest overall. Them being around gives the event more of that nice Halloween like feel. Traditionals were also the horde I was the most excited for and they DID NOT disappoint AT ALL! Also, this is the horde I joined on the games for this years event, haha.

7.) Walkers:

Pretty scary. I enjoyed this horde a lot. The actors got pretty into their roles, some were fairly convincing, which is always a bonus.

So, hordes over all were pretty well done. All the props and stuff were FANTASTIC and eerie. But, these new Street Experiences are for sure going to require time to break in. I feel the whole “roaming hordes” concept has not been perfected, but they are trying, and I will give it time.

With the whole “no safe zone” talk, I’m sure you know that is total bull, haha. But, because the hordes have a potential to be anywhere in the park, I do feel it was scarier than Scare Zones, but I’m not sure if I prefer one or the other just yet.

Probably the best thing with the hordes is that music and lighting is through out MOST of the park, which helps to unify it as one big scare zone.

Shows:

1.) Bill and Ted:

Meh, it was okay. This year’s show was not as good as last years. I primarily blame that on the lack of genuinely great stuff to make fun of this year, but oh well, they tired. I could see there being a re-write, but I could see it staying the same. I guess we will have to wait and see.

2.) 20 Penny Circus:

Very sexual and has no shame in showing it. This was a pretty humorous show, and for those disappointed with Bill and Ted, try this one. But, other than that, it’s just a typical magic show, but it did have some memorable moments...the grand finale wasn’t bad.

Overall:

This year’s event has been great so far and I can’t wait to see it evolve! There are more things I want to say, but I am getting way too tired. Anyways, I will re-review the event after it is over.

Thanks for reading,

TsunamiFox